5 Reasons your Flea Treatment isn’t working?

3 months ago

Many pet parents go through this situation
once in their life when they find their
dog scratching his/her body even after the administration of flea treatment. It
becomes quite an annoying site after you have spent both time and money in the search
of the apt flea treatment. In such scenarios, you straight away dismiss the
treatment by saying that it didn’t work or it is inefficient.

However, according to many vets, this occurs not because the treatment
didn’t work but because there are several other parameters that help in making
the flea treatment beneficial.

Below are those parameters that you need to
make sure your treatment works.

Reading The Dosage Instructions

Yes, reading the package insert and carefully observing each and every
dosage guideline is very important. Oral treatments like Capstar require
daily administration and Nexgard
which is a chew has to be given monthly. In some cases, dogs have to be
observed after they are given the chew they might vomit it out. If you
are feeding the treatment by mixing it with food ensure that your Fido
eats the entire meal because half left meal means that the required
amount of dosage is also not fully administered.

When it comes to topical solutions like K9
Advantix, Activyl, Frontline Plus, and
Revolution you need to make sure that the solution is applied between the hairs
onto the skin and in the neck region.

Clean And Flea Free Surroundings

Adult fleas reside on your dog but flea larvae
and flea eggs stay in the surrounding to keep the flea cycle going. However,
there are treatments like program flavor tablets that also help in breaking
flea life cycle but they are effective on your Fido’s body not in the
environment. Moreover, there are adult
fleas that are present in the yard, so,
if your pooch is playing in the open there are chances of those fleas getting
on to him/her. So, vacuum cleans your
house and keep your yard treated with flea killers.

Giving Time To The Treatment

In a study,
many vets have disclosed that pet parents sometimes want the results quickly
and hence they rush and change the treatments quickly. You need to understand
that the flea eggs survive in the carpets, beddings and other places in the
house when they mature they get on to your pet to feed. Hence, after some time you might see some fleas on your dog.
You just need to be patient these fleas will get wiped off. Treat your house
and yard to avoid re-emergence. Treatments like Effipro Duo Spot on are helpful in breaking the flea cycle for 3 months you use products like
these as well.

Not using a fast kill flea medication or one with an insect growth regulator

It is important to either start killing fleas before they can lay eggs or use a flea medication that kills the flea eggs. Stopping the flea life cycle is important. Research the product you are using so that you know how fast it will start killing fleas. Some products start killing fleas within 30 minutes, and some can take 24 hours or more.

Healthy Skin

Dry skin or unhealthy skin can impact the
effectiveness of topical treatments. It
becomes difficult for the ingredient to cover the entire body of your dog.
Hence, make sure that your pooch’s skin is healthy and not dry. You can use
many shampoos and conditioners that enhance the skin and coat quality of dogs.

If you are taking care of all the above points
and meticulously observing the dosage instructions and still you see the fleas
on your Fido’s body, then you need to consult your vet and know other reasons
why the treatment is not working.

David joined CanadaVetCare in 2013 as a product analyst and veterinary assistant. Being a passionate pet lover and keen animal health researcher, David had always found ways and solutions to help pet parents to improve their pets’ health. He is always happy to answer pet health-related queries and recommending pet parents for the right pet product for their furry companions.